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Shadows Inquiries series
Shadows Inquiries series — by Lyn Benedict Genres and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy Series Description or Overview The Premise: Sylvie Lightener is a a private investigator specializing in paranormal cases. She's been through a lot, including the recent killing of one of her employees, and in an effort to protect the people around her, she's closing up shop. Just as she does, one last customer comes in. This man tells her: "My name is Kevin Dunne. I am the god of Justice. And I need your help." He wants Sylvie to find his missing lover, who he can't find anywhere, but he knows that he is still alive. Since Sylvie isn't really allowed to say no, she flies to Chicago to investigate. ~ janicu's book blog Lead's Species * Paranormal-PI, sorceress powers Primary Supe *Gods What Sets it Apart * Narrative Type and Narrators *Third person narrative, mostly from Sylvia Lightener's perspsective. Books in Series Shadows Inquiries series: # Sins & Shadows (2009) # Ghosts & Echoes (2010) # Gods & Monsters (2011) # Lies & Omens (2012) Themes Love, vengeance, and the havoc that gods wreak when they meddle in mortal affairs. World Building Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES Setting Miami / Chicago Places: * Everglades Supernatural Elements ✥ Para-PI, sorceress, gods, erinyes, witch, Greek gods, Christian god, Furies, sorcerer, Lilith, haunt, Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, Aztec mythology, Magical Mundi monsters, , , , , Glossary: * Magicus Mundi: supernatural world of monsters and dark magic * God of Justice: * Tepeyollotl (aka Tepe), the Aztec god of earthquakes and jaguars * Hands of Glory: 'Groups & Organizations': * ISI: the secretive Internal Surveillance and Intelligence agency—a group of incompetent and hostile government agents who stalk her every move—think Homeland Security gone wild. World Wisecracking Sylvie Lightner (aka Shadows) has a complex set of paranormal powers, including the ability to resist many types of dark magic. She and her friend Alexandra Figueroa-Smith (aka Alex) run Shadows Inquiries, which Sylvie describes as “a P.I. firm without a license.” Her motto (tattooed on her back) is Cedo Nulli (“I do not yield”), and she is a tough, streetwise survivor with a sardonic and flippant attitude toward practically everyone. Here, Sylvie explains that a local police detective doesn't much like her because she "had so many strikes against her that it was hard to pick out which one bothered him the most. Unlicensed PI with a reputation for trouble? A vigilante who took care of problems the police didn't want to acknowledge? A woman with a liking for large-caliber weaponry, a smart mouth, and something dangerous in her blood?" (Lies & Omens, pp. 1-2) Sylvie has two main enemies: Magicus Mundi, the supernatural world of monsters and dark magic, and the secretive Internal Surveillance and Intelligence agency (aka ISI, aka Internal Surveillance and Investigation—in book 4), a group of incompetent and hostile government agents who stalk her every move—think Homeland Security gone wild. Sylvie's primary contact with the ISI is Agent Michael Demalion, who was her lover until she learned that he was really an ISI spy. Demalion goes through many trials and tribulations—and several very different identities—as the series progresses. Knowledge of the hierarchy of Greek, Egyptian, and Aztec mythology is helpful in understanding the finer points of the plots. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES Protagonist ✥ Sylvie Lightner: aka "Shadows," who works as a sort of paranormal P.I. After a satanic cult kills one of her friends, Sylvie is about to call it quits. Just as she's firing her assistant and packing her office, she is approached by a god in need. Kevin Dunne is the Greek god of Justice, and he's shown up with his Furies in tow, wanting Sylvie to help him find his missing lover. ~ ✥ Sylvie has dealt with all kinds of monsters. During most of that time, the ISI has been hounding her, sometimes secretly and sometimes overtly. By now, Sylvie is finding it harder to draw the line between the real monsters and the human ones, and she's finding it progressively easier to kill. If she doesn't stop, she fears, she may become one of the monsters herself. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES Sidekick * Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen: Characters Chart To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Author Lyn Benedict * Website: Lane Robins' Journal * Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy * Other Pen Names: Lane Robins Bio: Lane Robins was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of two scientists, and grew up as the first human member of their menagerie. When it came time for a career, it was a hard choice between veterinarian and writer. It turned out to be far more fun to write about blood than to work with it. She received her BA in Creative Writing from Beloit College, and currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with an ever-fluctuating number of dogs and cats. ~ FF and GR * Full Bio: Contributors 'Cover Artists' * Artist: Shane Rebenschied (books 3, 4 confirmed) — Source: ISFdb: Cover: Gods & Monsters, and ISFdb: Cover: Lies & Omens 'Other Contributors': * Audio Book Narrator: — Source: * Editor: — Source: Publishing Information * Publisher: * Author Page: Lyn Benedict - Penguin Books USA # Sins & Shadows: # Ghosts & Echoes: # Gods & Monsters: # Lies & Omens: Book Cover Blurbs ✤ BOOK ONE—Sins & Shadows (2009): Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real-and where death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she's closing up shop-until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover. And he won't take no for an answer. ~ Goodreads | Sins & Shadows (Shadows Inquiries, #1) by Lyn Benedict ✤ BOOK TWO—Ghosts & Echoes (2010): Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real-and where death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she's closing up shop-until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover. And he won't take no for an answer. ~ Goodreads | Ghosts & Echoes (Shadows Inquiries #2) by Lyn Benedict ✤ BOOK THREE—Gods & Monsters (2011): Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual and unbelievable. When she finds the bodies of five women in the Florida Everglades, Sylvie believes them to be the work of a serial killer and passes the buck. But when the bodies wake and shift shape, killing the police, Sylvie finds herself at the head of a potentially lethal investigation. ~ Goodreads | Gods & Monsters (Shadows Inquiries #3) by Lyn Benedict ✤ BOOK FOUR—Lies & Omens (2012): Sylvie Lightner is a P.I. specializing in the unusual—in a world where magic is real, and Hell is just around the corner. After escaping secret government cells and destroying a Miami landmark, Sylvie’s trying to lay low—something that gets easier when a magical force starts taking out her enemies. But these magical attacks are a risk to bystanders, and Sylvie can’t let that slide. When the war between the government and the magical world threatens the three people closest to her—her assistant, her sister, and her lover—Sylvie has no choice but to get involved with hidden powers bent on shaping the world to their liking. Now, with death and disaster on the horizon, even if Sylvie wins, things will never be the same. ~ Goodreads | Lies & Omens (Shadows Inquiries, #4) by Lyn Benedict First Sentences # Sins & Shadows (2009) — Sylvie Lightner studied her coffeemaker with a weary and contemplative eye, trying to decide if she should dump the carafe and pack the machine now, or keep the caffeine until the very last moment. # Ghosts & Echoes (2010) — Just before 2 P.M., South Beach traffic was as slow as it ever got. # Gods & Monsters (2011) — For once, when people started dying, Sylvie Lightner wasn't at ground zero. # Lies & Omens (2012) — Prologue: "I don't know about this," Detective Raul Garza said again. / Chapter #1: Sylvie had a whole list of things she disliked—misogynist sorcerers, incompetent drivers, government agents who ride her office illegally, trashed her security, and absconded with her files, lovers who were too busy to call, and cops who weren't—too many things to really enumerate or an, but frantic phone calls from her clients were close to the top. Quotes * Lyn Benedict Quotes (Author of Sins & Shadows) ~ Goodreads * Shadows Inquiries Series ~ Shelfari Trivia *Goodreads | Lists That Contain Sins & Shadows (Shadows Inquiries, #1) by Lyn Benedict *Goodreads | Lists That Contain Ghosts & Echoes (Shadows Inquiries #2) by Lyn Benedict *Goodreads | Lists That Contain Gods & Monsters (Shadows Inquiries #3) by Lyn Benedict *Goodreads | Lists That Contain Lies & Omens (Shadows Inquiries, #4) by Lyn Benedict Awards Read Alikes (suggestions) — If you like these, you may like this: * Prospero's War series * Hollows series * Marla Mason series * Dresden Files series * Paranormal Scene Investigations series * Disillusionists series, The * Kara Gillian series * Elemental Assassin series * Black London series * Corine Solomon series * Mortal Path series * InCryptid seriesand * Spellcrackers.com series * Zoe Martinique series * Anya Kalinczyk series * Underworld Detection Agency series * Greywalker series * Persephone Alcmedi series * OSI series Notes See Also * 2015 UF Release Schedule * List of Sidekicks * List of Vampires of Urban Fantasy * Characters (category) * List of UF Anthologies * List of Cover Artists * Urban Fantasy Links * 2014 UF Release Schedule * Category links at bottom of page External References Books: * no site found ~ Author * Goodreads | Shadows Inquiries series by Lyn Benedict ~ Goodreads * Lyn Benedict ~ FF * Shadows Inquiries - Series Bibliography ~ ISFdb * Shadows Inquiries Series ~ Shelfari * Shadows Inquiries | Series ~ LibraryThing * FictFact - Shadows Inquiries series by Lyn Benedict ~ FictFact * Lane Robins - Summary Bibliography ~ ISFdb (author) Freebies & Excerpts: * Summaries: *Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES *Author Lyn Benedict biography and book list *Lyn Benedict ~ Night Owls World, Characters, etc: *Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES *Shadows Inquiries Series ~ Shelfari # Sins & Shadows (2009) # Ghosts & Echoes (2010) # Gods & Monsters (2011) # Lies & Omens (2012) Reviews: *janicu's book blog - On Vox: Sins & Shadows #1 by Lyn Benedict *On My Mind Today - Sins and Shadows #1 Review *Review: Lyn Benedict's *Ghosts and Echoes #2: Shadows Inquiries* Interviews, Guest Posts, Author Commentary: * Articles: * Artist: *Shane Rebenschied - Summary Bibliography Author: *Lane Robins' Journal *lyn benedict | Tumblr *Goodreads | Lyn Benedict (Author of Sins & Shadows) **Goodreads | Lane Robins (Author of Maledicte) * Community, Fan Sites: *lyn benedict | Tumblr Gallery of Book Covers Sins & Shadows (Shadows Inquiries #1) by Lyn Benedict.jpg|1. Sins & Shadows (2009—Shadows Inquiries series) by Lyn Benedict|link=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6091497-sins-shadows Ghosts & Echoes (Shadows Inquiries #2) by Lyn Benedict.jpg|2. Ghosts & Echoes (2010—Shadows Inquiries series) by Lyn Benedict|link=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7114671-ghosts-echoes Gods & Monsters (Shadows Inquiries #3) by Lyn Benedict.jpg|3. Gods & Monsters (2011—Shadows Inquiries series) by Lyn Benedict—art: Shane Rebenschied|link=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9653814-gods-monsters Lies & Omens (Shadows Inquiries #4) by Lyn Benedict.jpg|4. Lies & Omens (2012—Shadows Inquiries series) by Lyn Benedict—art: Shane Rebenschied|link=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12386931-lies-omens Category:Paranormal Detectives as Main Supe Category:Gods Category:Series Category:Female Lead Category:Magic Users Category:Paranormal Detectives: Cop or P.I. Category:Ghosts and Spirits Category:Omens